#, 


."^J^. 


7 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


■^       140 

US      Sail 


2.5 


22 


2.0 


1.8 


^      I 

L25  iU  ii.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


id. 


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2 

3 

5 

6 

S«Wi-»iW*«=''**»*«»*f'*«*»*«*S«8W*ie^^ 


•'-SfP* 


I 


>J  > 


6f  i 


Pemaquid  and  Monhegan. 


ADDRESS  01--  HON.  CHARLES  LEVI  WOODBURY 

OF    UOSTON 
BEFORE  THE   HYDE    PARK   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY, 

February  26,  1891. 


lADiEs  AND  Gentlemen  of  this  Historical  Society:  I 
remember  when  I  first  saw  Pemaquid.  I  was  cruising  eastward  in 
the  yacht  of  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Dean  of  Boston,  and,  owing  to 
the  fog,  we  ran  in  by  Pemaquid  Point  until  we  reached  the  outer 
harbor  Here  we  caught  mackerel  and  waited  for  the  fog  to  lift. 
On  the  shore  an  abandoned  porgy  factory,  perfumed  as  unlike  a 
bank  of  violets  as  possible,  occupied  one  chop  of  the  harbor;  on 
the  other  stood  a  large,  square  house,  more  pretentious  than  a 
farm-house,  and  in  front  could  be  traced  some  slight  ridges  and  a 

few  bunches  of  bushes.  ,    ,        1 

We  sailed  the  next  morning,  bound  east,  and  on  our  starboard 
hand  as  we  neared  the  point,  a  lofty  island  some  four  leagues 
away  attracted  our  attention,  -  it  was  Monhegan.  When  we 
returned  from  our  explorations  of  the  islands  of  the  Penobscot 
and  Mount  Desert,  we  sighted  the  island,  the  morning  sun  play- 
ing on  its  top,  bathed  it  in  light ;  amid  a  peaceful  ocean  it  rose 
like  an  island  of  the  blessed ;  anon  the  lighthouse  and  then  as 
with  flowing  sail  we  neared  it,  houses  and  then  windows  could  be 
made  out  The  wind  was  fair,  but  on  my  suggestion  that  this 
was  the  hallowed  ground,  the  germ  of  New  England,  we  hauled 
up  a  little  closer  to  the  wind  and  dashed  up  to  the  head  of  the 
harbor,  tacked  and  stood  off  on  our  course,  westward,  ho!  We 
had  seen  the  cradle  of  New  England. 

My  theme  to-night  is  specially  the  history  of  the  Forts  of 

Pemaquid. 


I 


Pemaquid  and  Moiihegan. 


DISCOVERY. 

Before  entering  on  this  recital  of  the  conflict  of  races  and  of 
nations,  of  civilization  antl  savage  life,  to  control  the  destinies  of 
this  continent,  I  should  refer  briefly  to  the  discovery  of  this  coast. 
After  Columbus  had  astonished  Europe,  and  rivalled  the  Port- 
ugese explorations  of  the  East,  the  Pope  divided  the  new-found 
territories,  giving  the  west  to  the  Spaniards  and  the  east  to  the 
Portugese.  France  and  England,  being  left  unsatisfied  and  dis- 
satisfied, wont  for  their  shares  in  several  ways.  They  captured 
the  Spanish  treasure  ships  and  confiscated  their  cargo,  — that  is, 
private  gentlemen  did  it  in  an  unofficial  way.  When  they  got 
captured,  the  Spaniards  hung  them  promptly  at  the  yard-arm,  and 
when  the  Spaniards  were  taken  after  a  resistance,  an  old  Nor- 
wegian or  Viking  method  of  sending  captives  "home  by  sea"  was 
resorted  to,  and  they  were  made  to  walk  the  plank ! 

In  the  north,  the  fisheries  of  Newfoundland  and  Cape  Breton 
were  pursued  by  French,  Portugese  and  Spaniards,  to  whom  were 
added,  in  the  last  third  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  English,  — 
all  well  armed,  holding  their  fares  of  fish  not  merely  by  the  hook 
but  by  the  sword,  as  the  national  law  of  the  fisheries. 

The  coast  between  Nova  Scotia  and  the  ubiquitous  Florida 
was  little  frequented,  and  very  dangerous,  except  to  heavily 
armed  vessels.  The  sight  of  a  sail  was  signal  for  a  fight  or  a 
flight.  The  few  armed  traders  or  piratical  explorers  who  touched 
its  shores  brought  to  Europe  the  rumor  that  somewhere  on  what 
we  now  know  as  the  coast  of  Maine  there  was  a  great,  rich  native 
city  called  Norumbega,  a  myth  like  the  Island  of  the  Seven  Cities 
that  Cabot  pursued. 

South  of  40°  north  latitude  the  French  had  been  beaten  off 
from  forming  a  settlement,  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  had  been 
defeated  by  vicissitudes  and  perils  in  a  like  purpose.  We 
need  not  consider  Cortoreal,  Gomez  and  Verezano,  nor  Cartier, 
Roberval  or  Gilbert  and  the  like  adventurers. 

Practically,  our  knowledge  of  the  coast  of  New  England  begins 
with  1600,  and  we  may  leave  the  sixteenth  century  out  of  consid- 
eration, and  begin  here.  In  1600,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  and  his 
relative,  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  had  stirred  up  the  English,  and 
the  French  had  equally  awoke  to  the  determination  to  have  some 
part  of  the  North  American  coast  south  of  45",  whether  the 
Spaniards  liked  it  or  not.      Patents  were   readily  granted    by 

■   mr* 

S«pt  II 1830 


A\ 


ces  and  of 
estinies  of 
this  coast, 
the  Port- 
new-found 
east  to  the 
and  dis- 
y  captured 
—  that  is, 
they  got 
-d-arm,  and 
n  old  Nor- 
y  sea"  was 

ape  Breton 
whom  were 
English,  — 
)y  the  hook 

)us  Florida 
to  heavily 
fight  or  a 

rho  touched 

?re  on  what 
rich  native 

even  Cities 

beaten  off 
1  had  been 
pose.  We 
lor  Cartier, 

land  begins 
;  of  consid- 
gh  and  his 
nglish,  and 
have  some 
lether  the 
;ranted    by 


4ii 


m 


Pemaquid  and  Monhegan.      .  3 

princes  for  territory  "in  remote  heathen  and  barbarous  lands," 
but  it  was  as  difficult  for  the  patentee  to  take  possession  as  it 
would  have  been  for  the  Royal  Grantor  to  show  any  color  of  title 
in  himself.  At  this  date  the  trade  of  fishing  at  Newfoundland 
and  Cape  Breton  and  adjacent  shores  had  been  thoroughly 
exploited  during  the  preceding  century  by  French  and  English 
(Parkhurst,  in  1578,  estimates  530  sail  fishing  on  these  coasts); 
and  it  was  almost  side  by  side  that  these  two  nations  now 
explored  the  riches  of  the  New  England  coast,  and  grasped  for  its 
exclusive  control.   • 

In  1602,  Gosnold  made  a  voyage  6n  this  coast  and  touched  the 
coa3t  of  Maine  at  York  Nubble.  His  \liistoriographer  writes  that 
as  they  neared  the  shore  a  Biscayan  shallop  under  sail  dashed  out 
from  the  other  side  of  the  great  rock  and  ran  down  to  them, 
having  on  board  some  half  dozen  Indians  with  about  two  suits  of 
European  clothes  divided  between  them.  They  held  a  very 
pleasant  interview,  the  Indians  making  them  quite  a  chart  of  the 
coast  with  chalk  on  a  board,  and  Gosnold,  finding  himself  at  Lat. 
43°,  further  north  than  his  object,  the  Vineyard  Sound  and 
Island,  bore  away  southward,  leaving  two  isles  (Boon  and  Isle  of 
Shoals)  on  his  port  hand.  This  fixes  the  location ;  it  also  fixes  the 
fact  that  French  or  Basque  traders  had  been  there  before  him, 
and  that  the  natives  had  learned  to  handle  the  sloop.  In  1603 
Martyn  Pryng  was  on  the  coast,  and  in  1604  Weymouth  was  at 
Monhegan,  and  at  Damarel's  Cove  Islands.  In  the  same  year, 
De  Monts  and  Champlain  were  also  at  these  points.  The  issue 
was  shaping  between  the  French  and  the  English. 

The  French  king,  in  1603,  had  granted  a  charter  to  De  Monts 
for  all  the  region  from  latitude  40°  to  48°  or  49°,  which  we  now 
call  New  York  and  New  England. 

The  English  king  (James  I.),  in  1606,  had  granted  the  Virginia 
charter,  divided  into  two  sections,  one,  North  Virginia,  having 
nearly  the  same  boundaries  as  the  New  France  granted  by  the 
French.  The  Indians  were  in  actual  possession ;  the  Spaniards 
claimed  the  coast.  Here  were  two  new  titles.  Who  would  get 
the  actual  possession  of  the  land  they  all  wanted } 

De  Monts  and  that  skilful  navigator,  Champlain,  came  over  in 
1604,  skirted  the  Coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  round  into  Port  Royal, 
crossed  to  the  other  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  settled  at  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  River.     In  1605  they  explored  the  coast  as 


-■^vmtm 


Pemaquid  ami  Monhegan. 


far  south  as  the  Nantucket  Shoals;  sighting  the  island  Mon- 
hegan, "  La  Nef,"  they  called  it,  and  entering  Boothbay  Harbor, 
explored  the  Sheepscot  and  the  Kennebec.  Here  on  their  return 
they  learned  of  Weymouth's  gross  outrage.  In  the  following 
year,  after  moving  their  residence  to  Port  Royal,  they  again 
e.vplored  these  coasts. 

Shall  it  become  New  England  or  New  France.?  It  required  an 
hundred  and  fifty  years  to  settle  this  question. 

The  English  Company,  of  whom  Chief  Justice  Popham  was  the 
head,  and  whose  members  were  Wi^t  of  England  people,  sent  out 
two  vessels  under  Raleigh  Gilbert  and  George  Popham,  with 
settlers  who  made  their  first  landfall  at  the  island  of  Monhegan, 
where  they  celebrated  religious  services  according  to  the  Church 
of  England,  and  then  came  over  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec, 
and  settled  on  an  islana  which  is  now  Fort  Popham.  From  Mon- 
hegan they  paid  their  first  visit  to  Pemaquid. 

The  Indians  of  the  country  were  of  the  Abnaki  tribes,  whose 
tributaries  extended  westward,  and  south  through  Maine,  New 
Hampshire  and  part  of  Massachusetts.  Their  chief  head  was  the 
Bashaba,  who  lived  at  Pemaquid,  a  few  miles  up  the  river. 

Here  let  me  interject !  Weymouth  had  kidnapped  and 
carried  off  some  Indians  to  England,  where  Sir  Fernando  Gorges 
got  two  of  them,  and,  when  they  knew  enough  English,  drew  from 
them  a  knowledge  of  the  country,  the  tribes  and  their  power,  etc., 
which  was  of  great  benefit  in  the  future.  One  of  these,  Skitwares, 
found  his  way  back  to  the  Bashaba ;  another  had  come  with  the 
expedition  as  interpreter,  and  their  intercourse  was  easy,  and 
became  very  friendly ;  another,  Saggamore  Nahandu,  had  also 
been  in  England.  It  was  clear  the  beaver  trade  was  good  and 
profitable.  The  Indians  east  of  the  Penobscot  were  called 
Tarrantines,  were  enemies  of  the  Bashaba,  and  held  rather  to  the 
French. 

In  the  autumn  of  1608,  the  settlement  at  the  Kennebec  broke 
up  and  the  most  of  the  settlers  returned  to  England,  but  that  did 
not  close  business  operations.  Sir  Francis  Popham,  Gorges  and 
others  continued  in  the  trade,  and  running  the  -remarkably  fine 
fishing,  which  the  waters  from  Cape  Newwagen  to  Pemaquid  and 
to  Monhegan  afforded.  Hither  also  the  South  Virginia  Company 
soon  sent  vessels  every  year  to  fish  for  their  own  supply.  In 
1609,   Zuringu  notes  one  ship  and  a  tender  sailing  for  North 


9 


island  Mon- 
^»bay  Harbor, 
1  their  return 
lie  following 
,  they   again 

t  required  an 

ham  was  the 
pie,  sent  out 
jpham,   with 

Monhegan, 

the  Church 

i  Kennebec, 

From  Mon- 

ribes,  whose 
Maine,  New 
lead  was  the 
/er. 

lapped  and 
mdo  Gorges 
I,  drew  from 
power,  etc., 
,  Skitwares, 
me  with  the 
i  easy,  and 
u,  had  also 
s  good  and 
vere  called 
ither  to  the 

ebec  broke 
)ut  that  (did 
Gorges  and 
rkably  fine 
tnaquid  and 
I  Company 
supply.  In 
for   North 


Pemaqiiiii  and  Monhegan. 


5 


• 


Virginia,  probably  Sir  Francis  Popham's.  The  coast  and  trade 
were  thoroughly  explored  on  each  side.  Champlain's  journals  and 
maps  were  published  in  France  in  i6n,  Lescarbot's  history  in 
1609,  and  Martyn  Pryng's  admirable  researches  of  1606,  and  maps, 
were  fully  known  to  the  North  Virginia  Company  adventurers. 

In  1610,  Captain  Argal,  from  Virginia,  fished  on  the  coast,  in 
latitude  43"  40'.  Another  ship,  his  companion,  was  also  on  this 
coast. 

In  161 1,  two  captains,  Harlie  and  Hobson,  .sailed  for  this  coast 
from  England.  In  this  year  the  French  visited  the  abandoned 
settlement  of  Popham  at  Fort  St.  George  twice,  under  M.  do 
Biancourt  from  Port  Royal.  Father  Biard  states  they  found  some 
English  sloops  fishing,  but  did  not  attack  them.  The  first 
collision  took  place  this  year,  when  a  French  vessel  under 
Captain  Platrier  was  captured  by  two  English  vessels,  near 
Emmetonic,  an  island  about  eight  leagues  from  the  Kennebec. 
These  vessels  were  probably  those  of  Mr.  Williams,  Popham's 
agent,  and  may  have  been  those  of  Captains  Hobson  and  Harlie. 

161 2.  Williams  is  stated  to  have  been  on  the  coast  this  year  also. 

161 3.  The  French  had  made  a  settlement  at  Mount  Desert. 
Captain  Argal,  who  was  fishing  from  Virginia  about  Monhegan, 
heard  of  it  and  ran  down,  captured  their  vessels  and  many  of  the 
settlers,  including  Father  Biard,  broke  up  the  plantation  and  took 
his  prizes  to  Virginia.' 

1614.  Argal  also  attacked  the  French  settlement  at  Port 
Royal.  There  was  a  resolute  spirit  astir  under  each  flag. 
Perhaps  its  sole  inducement  was  glory,  but  the  value  of  the 
fishery  and  of  the  fur  trade  was  practically  held  out  to  those 
who  came  the  best  armed  and  the  best  manned  to  partake  in  its 
profits.  Neither  side  was  dis\)osed  to  invite  the  public  into  their 
confidence ;  it  was  too  gooc  •  'hing  to  be  thrown  open.    - 

In  1614,  John  Smith  came  jut  with  two  vessels  for  trade,  fish 
and  whaling ;  also  Captain  Hobson  was  here  with  an  interpreter ; 
and  in  the  fall  Sir  Richard  Hawkins  and  two  vessels  came  out  to 
try  the  winter  fishing  and  trade.  They  all  came  to  Monhegan, 
and  Captain  Smith  says  that  at  Pemaquid,  opposite  him,  was  a 
ship  of  Sir  Francis  Popham  that  had  traded  there  for  several 
years.  Smith  states  that  he  learned  two  French  ships  were  trading 
about  the  Merrimack  and  that  he  did  not  go  in  sight  of  them,  — 
judicious  navigator! 


1; 

l! 


6  I'emaqHiJ  aiui  Monhegan. 

Smith  had  the  weakness  of  literature.  He  wrote  well,  and 
when  he  returned  he  wrote  and  imblished.  Thus,  what  with  him 
and  Champlain,  the  tnide  secrets  and  profits  of  this  coast  were 
opened  to  the  public,  and  a  rew  era  soon  set  in. 

There  was  another  effective  cause  also,  which  was  the  most 
important  stimulus  to  the  makin{j  of  permanent  scttlemfnts. 


TIIK    WINTKR    FISIIKRV. 

The  course  of  the  Enj;lish  fishermen  had  been  to  leave  home 
in  January  and  reach  Monhegan,  or  Damrel's  Cove,  in  March,  set 
up  their  stages  and  bej^in  fishing.  Hy  June  their  fish  were  caught 
and  by  August  or  September  dried,  so  that  they  could  sail  for 
Spain  and  obtain  an  early  market.  They  brought  out  double 
crews,  forty  to  si.xty  m^*n,  thus  sp^jeding  their  fishing.  It 
transpired  that  the  winter  fishing  was  the  best  in  quantity  and 
quality.  As  the  adventurers  were  business  people  with  an  eye 
to  profit,  good  grounds  were  opened  to  them  for  permanent 
establishments  about  these  charmed  fishing-grounds,  from  Cape 
Newwagcn  and  Damrel's  Cove  Islands  to  Pemaquid,  and  off  shore 
to  Monhegan,  —  where  all  the  English  fishing  then  was  carried 
on.  Sir  Richard  Hawkins  was  president  of  the  North  Virginia 
Council  and  with  his  two  ships  wintered  here,  but  in  which  harbor 
is  now  unknown,  caught  cargo  for  both  ships,  and  sailed  the 
following  spring, — one  ship  for  Spain,  the  other  for  Virginia. 
It  was  a  success. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  how  many  vessels  were  yearly  here  before 
this,  but  Smith  states  he  had  six  or  seven  maps  given  him  before 
he  sailed,  which  shows  they  were  more  numerous  than  have  been 
recorded.  The  vessels  anchored  in  harbors,  built  stages,  fish- 
houses  and  flakes  on  shore,  and  sent  out  their  crews  in  small 
boats  daily  to  fish.  Their  fares  were  then  brought  to  the  stages, 
cleaned,  salted  and  dried  there,  and  shipped  when  ready  for 
market.  With  the  winter  fishery  the  stages  and  small  boats 
could  be  occupied  all  the  year  round,  and  the  half  crew  left  there 
be  earning  instead  of  lying  idle. 

Pemaquid  was  the  best  place  for  the  fur  trade,  because  of  its 
proximity  to  the  Bashaba;  also  it  could  in  a  great  degree 
command  the  fur  trade  of  the  Kennebec.  There  is  every  reason 
to  suppose  that  Sir  Francis  Popham's  people  built  some  block- 


Pemaqtiili  ami  Mi)nf}f^an. 


to   well,  and 

Kit  with  liiin 

coast  were 

IS  the  most 
ttlements. 


leave  home 
I  March,  set 
A^ere  caught 
uhl  sail  for 
out  double 
Fishin;?.  It 
lantity  and 
vith  an  eye 

permanent 

from  Cape 
d  off  shore 
ivas  carried 
th  Virginia 
hich  harbor 

sailed  the 
r  Virginia. 

here  before 
him  before 
1  have  been 
tages,  fish- 
vs  in  small 
the  stages, 
ready  for 
mall  boats 
V  left  there 

:ause  of  its 
3at  degree 
^ery  reason 
ime  block- 


house or  trade  station  there,  as  hr  hail  traded  there  for  several 
years,  but  no  statement  of  the  fact  has  come  down  to  us. 

In  1615,  Smith  states  that  four  or  five  ships  from  London, — 
one  sent  by  Sir  I'rancis  Gorges  from  I'lymouth,  and  two  under  his 
command  —  sailed  for  Monhegan.  Smith  was  captured  in  one  of 
them  by  the  French.  How  many  came  fishing  from  Virginia 
we  do  not  learn.  Smith  wrote  his  hook  this  year,  and  it  was 
published  in  1616.  Ho  was  reproached  bitterly  for  disclosing  the 
secrets  of  the  country.  This  publication  gave  impetus  to  the 
voluntary  Jis/icniieu,  not  connected  with  the  great  companies,  to 
come  here  and  try  their  fortunes.  In  this  year  the  Dutch  sloop 
Restless,  built  at  New  York  in  161 1  by  Adrian  Block,  came 
as  far  as  the  Penobscot  on  a  trading  voyage.  Her  captain, 
Hendrickson,  made  a  map  of  the  coast. 

The  first  vessel  built  in  the  country  was  tht;  Virginia,  built 
1607-08,  at  the  Kennebec  settlement ;  the  Restless  was  the  ne.xt. 
Of  course  pinnaces  had  bacn  taken  out  by  fishermen  and  set  up 
after  arriving  here,  but  these  two  were  actually  built  here. 


sr.TTLEMKNT. 


The  contingencies  of  trade  and  the  fishery  were  now  devel- 
oping the  original  purpose  of  the  North  Virginia  Company.  Sir 
Francis  I'opham's  trading  headquarters  had  been  all  this  time  at 
Pemaquid,  as  both  Smith  and  Gorges  state. 

Sir  Fernando  Gorges  now  took  up  the  matter  of  wintering 
there.  Let  me  cite  his  own  language,  "I  bought  a  ship  for 
fishing  and  trade.  I  sent  Vines  and  others,  my  own  servants, 
with  their  provision,  for  trade  and  discovery,  appointing  them  to 
leave  the  ship  and  ship's  company  for  to  follow  their  business  in 
the  usual  place.  By  these,  and  by  the  help  of  the  natives  formerly 
sent  over,  I  came  to  be  truly  informed  of  so  much  as  gave  me  the 
assurance  that  in  time  I  should  want  no  undertakers,  though,  as 
yet,  I  was  forced  to  hire  men  to  stay  there  the  winter  quarter  at 
extreme  rates,  and  not  without  danger;  for  that  the  war  had 
consumed  the  Bashaba,"  (and  the  plague,  etc.),  "notwithstanding 
Vines  and  the  rest  with  him  that  lay  in  the  cabins  with  the  people 
that  died,  some  more  or  less  mightily,  not  one  of  them  ever  felt 
their  heads  to  ache,  and  this  course  I  held  some  years  together." 

This  appears  to  make  it  clear  that  Pemaquid  was  occupied 
for  trade  purposes  from  the  departure  of  the  Popham  Gilbert 


T 


I— 


i  ! 


fi 


!::] 


8 


PftnaqiiiJ  ditJ  Motihei>iitt. 


Colony  from  the  Kcnncbfc  in  1608,  and  at  an  cirly  date  per- 
manently, with  a  view  of  estahlishinj;  ICn^lish  settlements  on 
the  main  land  of  the  j;rant.  Some  wi  iters  say  that  it  was  at  Saco 
that  Vines  with  his  men  lay,  during;  the  winter  «)f  i6r7-i8. 
This  plague  raged  about  three  years,  killing  nine-tenths  of  the 
Indians  living  between  the   Penobscot  and  Cape  Cod. 

In  1619,  Captain  Rowcroft  left  three  men  at  Saco,  who  made 
their  way  eastward  and  crossed  to  Moiiliegan,  where  they  were 
found  in  the  spring.  They  must  have  had  a  boat,  and  probably 
the  reason  why  they  crosseil  from  Pemaquid  or  Cape  Newwagen 
was  to  join  winter  fishermen  remainini;  there. 

In  1616,  Smith  states  four  ships  of  London  and  two  of  Plymouth 
and  Sir  Richard  Hawkins  were  again  in  these  waters.  Me  does 
not  give  the  vessels  from  South  Virginia.  Vines  also  came  in 
command  of  a  ship. 

In  1617,  eight  tall  ships  came  there  from  Kngland. 

In  161 8.  six  or  seven  volunteer  ships  came  from  the  west  of 
England,  and  those  of  the  two  companies.  Captain  Rowcroft  also 
seized  a  French  barque.  Smith  also  states  that  in  1614,  1616  and 
1617  he  was  prepared  with  ten  or  fifteen  men  to  stay  in  the 
country,  but  his  purposes  were  defeated.  In  1619,  he  says  one 
went  from  the  West,  those  of  London  not  stated. 

In  1620,  six  or  seven  sail  went  from  the  west  country,  those  of 
London  not  stated. 

The  prospect  of  establishing  settlements  was  so  flattering 
that  early  in  this  year  the  company  applied, for  a  new  charter, 
obtained  a  warrant  therefor,  and  the  charter  passed  the  Great 
Seal,  November,  1620,  creating  them  the  Great  Council  of 
Plymouth,  with  boundaries  from  north  latitude  40°  to  48°,  and 
powers  of  government,  title  to  the  lands,  and  also  giving  them 
a  monopoly  of  the  trade  and  the  fishery.  Before  I  pass  to  this 
charter  I  will  continue  the  preceding  subject. 

In  1619,  Gorges  sent  out  Captain  Dermer,  who  was  to  have 
met  Captain  Rowcroft,  but  found  he  was  gone.  Dermer  took  his 
pinnace  and,  with  an  interpreter,  coasted  as  far  as  Virginia. 

In  1620,  he  visited  the  harbor  where  the  Pilgrims  arrived  in 
the  following  December.  Captain  Pryng  had  called  it,  in  1603, 
Mount  Aldworth,  Champlain,  in  1605,  had  named  it  Bay  St. 
Louis,  but  the  Pilgrim  settlers  called  it  New  Plymouth.  Dermer 
went  from  here  with  his  interpreter  and  squaw  to  a  distance  into 


v4'4 


Pemaquhi  and  Honhegan, 


rly  (late  pcr- 
tflcmcnts  on 
t  was  at  Saco 
of  1617-18. 
cnths  of  the 
:o(l.  ^ 

o,  who  made 
re  they  were 
;m{i  probably 
e  Newwagen 

of  I'lymouth 
rs.  He  does 
dso  came  in 


the  west  of 
iowcroft  also 
514,  1616  and 

stay  in  the 
he  says  one 

^try,  those  of 

so  flatterinj; 
new  charter, 
:d  the  Great 
Council  of 
'  to  48°,  and 
giving  them 
pass  to  this 

was  to  have 
mer  took  his 
ginia. 

IS  arrived  in 

it,  in  1603, 

it   Bay  St. 

th.    Dermer 

listance  into 


., 


the  interior,  and  rescued  from  the  savages  two  Frenchmen  who 
had  been  shipwrecked  in  a  I'Veiich  barcpie  some  lime  before. 
"Mourt's  Relation"  states  that  the  I'ilgrims,  when  on  Cape  Cod, 
found  «me  or  two  plank  houses.  I'ossibly  these  were  »)f  the  South 
Virginia  attempts  to  establish  their  cod  fishery. 

This  new  monopoly,  the  Great  Council  of  I'lymouth,  caused 
a  great  row.  The  South  Virginia  Company  fought  it  in  par- 
liament, claimed  they,  too,  spent  ;^5000  in  establishing  their 
fishery  on  the  east  coast,  and  were  now  cut  off  by  this  grant. 
The  voluntary  fishermen  fought  it,  both  in  parliament  and  on  the 
coast,  as  a  monopoly.  Gorges  defended  the  charter  bravf.-ly.  The 
House  of  Commons  was  against  him,  but  the  king  and  the  House 
of  Lords  were  for  him,  and  the  charter  stood.  The  Pilgrims 
had  a  charter  from  Virginia,  but  their  settlement  was  in  the  New 
England  jurisdiction.  Gorges  obtained  a  charter  for  them  here 
and  helped  them.  But  this  branch  of  history  is  not  within  the 
scope  of  this  discourse. 

•The  French  ambassador  also  object''^!  to  the  King  against  this 
charter,  as  an  infringement  on  the  territory  of  the  French.  The 
question  whether  it  should  be  New  Kngland  or  New  France  was 
pressed  with  renewed  vigor. 

Pemaquid  became  now  the  forefront  of  our  array.  A  force 
of  i5ooto30CX)  armed  fishermen,  hanging  on  its  flanks  half  the 
year,  was  more  than  ever  impenetrable  and  imposing.  The  great 
profits  of  the  fis'uing  for  all  the  round  season  drew  settlements 
at  convenient  points.  The  Isles  of  Shoals,  the  Piscataqua,  Saco, 
Casco,  Monht'gan  and  the  Damrel's  Cove  Islands,  even  also  Cape 
Ann,  felt  the  balmy  influence  of  profit  and  protection,  and  rallied 
settlers  behind  the  overshadowing  eyes  of  Pemaqu'd  and  Mon- 
hegan,  Plymouth  was  not  a  good  fishing  place,  nor  was  the 
Massachusetts,  but  on  the  eastern  coast  the  fishermen  rallied. 

The  younger  Gorges  came  out  governor  for  New  England  in 
1623,  and  visited  Pemaquid,  but  the  council  at  home  gave  up  the 
fishing  monopoly  and  the  voluntary  fishermen  thrived.  I  must 
not  cumber  you  with  details.  The  ships  came  to  Monhegan  or 
the  Isles  of  Shoals  and  sent  up  to  the  bay  in  their  pinnaces  the 
passengers  and  freight  due  there.  Those  who  wished  to  go  to 
England  generally  sailed  "down  East"  and  took  shipping  there. 
For  trade  goods  and  fishing  prior  to  1630  Pemaquid  was  without 
an  equal  on  the  coast.    The  petition  of  the  inhabitants  there  in 


i 


^.«»n.<«»iaa»llKfe<«a1'iji<illil'lll  MM»* 


1 

1 

i»  :   ■ 

i 

i' 

i 

f         :■■ 


n  ■ 


I  i 


10 


Pemaquid  and  Monbegan. 


1684,  to  the  Duke  of  York,  concludes:  "and  that  Pemaquid  may 
still  remain  metropolis  of  these  parts,  because  it  ever  have  been 
so  before  Boston  was  settled."  Grants  were  made  at  Pemaquid 
and  Monhegan  as  early  as  1623  surely ;  the  Earl  Arundel  had  this 
section  assigned  as  his  dividend  in  1622,  and  Abram  Jennings 
of  Plymouth,  who  was  then  a  member  of  the  council,  we 
recognize  in  1626  as  selling  out  his  great  trading  establishment 
at  Monhegan,  and  a  flock  of  goats,  which  the  Pilgrims  and  Mr. 
Thompson  of  Piscataqua  came  down  and  bought  between  them, 
also  some  ;^8oo  of  goods. 

We  find  Pierce  with  a  patent  of  strange  origin  at  Pemaquid. 
also  B.own  earlier  than  1625,  the  latter  rejoicing  in  a  title  deed 
from  Captain  John  Somerset,  the  chief  of  that  ilk,  him  whom  the 
Pilgrims  called  "  Samoset,"  who  welcomed  them  in  English  and 
introduced    them    to    one    of    Gorges'    Indians,   Tisquantum  or 
Squanto,  who  was  afterwards  their  interpreter  and  diplomat  for 
years  among  their  neighbor  tribes.     There  is  no  need  to  dwell  on 
the  land  titles  of  Aldworth,  Elbridge  and  Shurtz.     There  waf  a 
mechanic  and  farming  population  here,  workers  of  iron,  makers 
of  clay  pipes,  tanners,  shipwrights,  adjunct  to  the  fur  traders  and 
"ye  fishermen,"  but  the  place  being  free  had  no  archives.     Mr. 
Shurtz,  the  Justice  of  Peace,  appears  to  have  been  the  total  of 
government,  unless  they  had  also  a  town  meeting.     The  Pilgrims, 
when  starved  near  to  death  in  1622,  saw  a  shallop  come  into  the 
harbor  which  they  feared  was  a  French  man  of  war.     She  proved 
to  be  from  Damrel's  Cove  Islands.     They  followed  her  back  in 
their  own  boat  and  got  provisions  from  the  generous  fishermen 
to  supply  their  needs.      They  had,  states  Bradford,  the  further 
benefit  of  finding  their  way  there  for  future  use.     They  came 
again    in    1623,   and   when    their  boat   was  stove  and   sunk  at 
Damrel's  Cove   Islands   in   1624,   the  jolly  fishermen    joined  in 
raising  and  repairing  her  for  them.    We  infer  that  these  voluntary 
fishermen  were  neither  Brownists  nor  Puritans,  as  Phineas  Pratt 
in  his  narrative  states  he  arrived  at  these  islands  in   1622,  and 
found  that  "  the  fishermen  had  set  up  a  Maypole  and  were  very 
merry."     The  Plymouth  people  soon  set  up  a  trade  there  and  at 
the  Kennebec,  and  supported  their  colony  by  its  profits.     They 
owed  something    to    the    merry  fishermen   as    well    as    to  Sir 
Fernando  Gorges. 


Pemaqtiid  and  Monhegan. 


II 


*etnaquid  may 
er  have  been 

at  Pemaquid 
indel  had  this 
ram  Jennings 

council,  we 
establishment 
•ims  and  Mr. 
jtween  them, 

at  Pemaquid. 

a  title  deed 
im  whom  the 

English  and 
squantum  or 
diplomat  for 
d  to  dwell  on 
There  waf  a 
iron,  makers 
r  traders  and 
•chives.     Mr. 

the  total  of 
rhe  Pilgrims, 
)me  into  the 

She  proved 

her  back  in 
us  fishermen 

the  further 

They  came 
md  sunk  at 
n  joined  in 
:se  voluntary 
hineas  Pratt 
n  1622,  and 
d  were  very 
there  and  at 
ofits.  They 
as    to  Sir 


CI 


PEMAQUID  AND  MONHEGAN. 

BY  CHARLES  LEVI  WOODBURY. 
[continued.] 
WiNTHROP,  in  1630,  writes  in  his  journal  that,  on  the  day 
the  Arbella  got  into  Nahumkeik  Harbor,  Mr.  Atherton,  in 
his  sloop  bound  to  Pemaquid,  dropped  in  and  called  on  them. 
Mr  Shurtz  of  Pemaquid,  in  the  next  year,  sent  to  the  bay  an 
Indian  woman  who  had  been  taken  by  the  Tarantines.  at  Agawam. 
In  1635,  Winthrop  states  only  thirty  ploughs  were  running  m  the 
bay  In  1640,  he  writes  in  his  journal  that  one  Graften,  in  a 
sloop,  had  sailed  to  Pemaquid  and  brought  back  to  the  bay  twenty 
cows  and  oxen  with  hay  and  water  for  them.  In  1635,  he  states 
that  the  ship,  the  Angel  Gabriel,  was  lost  at  Pemaquid  m  a  great 
storm  She  was  intended  for  the  bay,  and  her  consort,  the 
James,  was  nearly  lost  at  the  Isles  of  Shoals.  Thus  one  can  see 
that,  though  the  bay  settlements  had  much  direct  trade  with 
Great  Britain,  they  had  not  displaced  the  ancient  leadership  of 
Pemaquid  in  the  fish  and  fur  trades.  Its  exports  and  casual 
passenger  trade  long  flourished. 

France,  under  the  strong  hands  of  Richelieu,  had  organized 
her  settlements  in  North  America  and,  not  renouncing  her  claim 
to  New  England,  was  active  in  reducing  all  she  could  into  actual 
possession.  Consequently,  Pemaquid  became  a  frontier  station 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  future  of  the  English  possessions 
westward  on  the  coast.  Undoubtedly,  some  stcekades  and  a  few 
guns  had  long  been  maintained  at  Pemaquid  to  oppose  the 
onslaughts  of  French,  Indians  and  pirates,  but  this  was  individual 
work,  rather  than  public  preparation. 

I  may  add  here  that  the  New  Plymouth  people  made  two 
efforts  to  establish  trading  ports  on  the  Penobscot,  and  that  the 
French  captured   each  and  broke  up  their  trade,  in  163 1  and 

^35-  .jyj.   PORTS   OF   PEMAQUID. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  trace  the  long  history  of  the  French 
and  Indian  wars,  but  reverting  to  the  subject  I  began  with,  the 
ruins  of  Pemaquid,  I  will  trace  the  succession  of  the  forts 
and  the  vicissitudes  they  endured,  briefly,  because  my  limits 
are  narrow,  and  because  numerous  general  histories  of  New 
England  fill  out  the  surrounding  events  which   I  must  omit. 


f1 


!   I 


. 


»i|! 


Pemaquid  and  Monbegan. 


In  1630,  we  learn  that  a  more  pretentious  fort  was  built  at 
Pemaquid,  where  the  farmers  and  resident  fishermen  had  largely 
increased. 

In  1632,  one  Dixey  Bull,  a  dissatisfied  Englishman,  turned 
pirate,  and  with  fifteen  others  surprised  and  plundered  the 
settlement  at  Pemaquid  and  raised  great  disturbance  on  the  coast. 
Bull  lost  one  of  his  principal  men  in  the  attack.  Captain  Neale 
of  Piscataqua  went  with  forty  men  to  the  relief  of  Pemaquid. 
After  this  Pemaquid  seems  to  have  had  better  protection,  as  we 
hear  no  more  of  such  attacks.  In  1664,  this  country  east  of  the 
Kennebec  came  under  the  patent  of  the  Duke  of  York,  who  paid 
small  attention  to  it,  for  in  1675  one  hundred  discontented 
citizens  petitioned  to  Massachusetts  for,  "wherein  some  times 
past  we  have  had  some  kind  of  government  settled  amongst  us, 
but  for  these  several  years  we  have  not  had  any  at  all,"  etc.,  and 
therefore  ask  to  be  taken  under  the  protection  of  Massachusetts. 
Eleven  of  the  signers  are  of  Pemaquid,  fifteen  are  of  Damrel's 
Cove  Islands,  sixteen  of  Cape  Newwagen  (Bonawagon  in  the 
petition),  eighteen  are  of  Monhegan,  twenty-one  of  Kennebec  and 
fifteen  of  the  Sheepscot.  How  many  were  of  the  opposite 
opinion  does  not  appear:  probably  it  was  the  more  numerous 
party. 

In  1675,  the  Indian  War,  known  as  King  Phillip's  War,  began. 

In  1676,  the  settlers  at  Pemaquid  and  on  the  adjacent  islands 
were  surprised  by  an  organized,  extensive  Indian  attack.  Pem- 
aquid was  deserted,  as  was  the  country  and  coast,  by  all  who 
could  escape  the  merciless  tomahawk.  The  survivors,  about  three 
hundred  in  number,  took  refuge  at  Damrel's  Cove  Islands,  where 
they  held  out  about  a  fortnight,  when,  realizing  the  impractica- 
bility of  defence,  they  sailed  in  various  vessels  west  to  Piscataqua, 
or  Boston,  and  all  east  of  the  Sagadahoc  was  desolate. 

Major  Waldron  with  a  strong  force  was  sent  down  to  redeem 
captives  and  to  retaliate.  He  had  a  sharp  brush  with  the 
Indians  at  Pemaquid, — a  Fort  Gardner  is  spoken  of  as  being 
then  in  their  control,  probafbly  a  block-house.  They  had  burnt 
Pemaquid  directly  on  its  being  abandoned.  An  affidavit  in  my 
possession  of  one  John  Cock,  born  east  of  the  Kennebec  and 
driven  off  in  1676  by  the  Indians,  speaks  of  a  Mr.  Padishal  having 
been  killed  at  Pemaquid  by  the  Indians.  The  Duke  of  York's 
government  at   New  York  now  awoke  from  their,  apathy  and 


Pemaquid  and  Monhegan. 


13 


was  built  at 

1  had  largely 

iman,  turned 
lundered  the 

on  the  coast, 
aptain  Neale 
of  Pemaquid. 
:ection,  as  we 
ry  east  of  the 
3rk,  who  paid 
discontented 

some  times 

amongst  us, 
,11,"  etc.,  and 
assachusetts. 

of  Damrel's 
ragon  in  the 
[.ennebec  and 
the  opposite 
re  numerous 

War,  began, 
acent  islands 
ttack.  Pem- 
,  by  all  who 
i,  about  three 
slands,  where 

2  impractica- 
0  Piscataqua, 

m  to  redeem 
h  with  the 
of  as  being 
:y  had  burnt 
idavit  in  my 
ennebec  and 
iishal  having 
:e  of  York's 
apathy  and 


\ 


prepared  a  formidable  force  to  retake  his  possessions,  and  in 
1677  took  possession  of  the  country  and  established  a  govern- 
ment. A  new  fort,  on  the  site  of  the  old  one,  was  erected,  —  a 
wooden  redoubt  with  two  guns  aloft,  an  outwork  with  two 
bastions,  each  carrying  two  guns,  and  one  gun  at  the  gate.  Fifty 
soldiers  were  stationed  as  a  garrison,  and  the  fort  was  named 

FORT   CHARLES. 

Under  this  protection,  Pemaquid  was  made  the  capital  of  the 
duke's  territory;  a  custom-house,  licenses  for  fishing,  and  a 
Justice  of  Peace  established.  The  Indians  were  awed,  and  a  kind 
of  treaty  made  with  them.  The  smacks  that  had  been  captured 
were  restored,  captives  released  and  a  delusive  hope  of  peace 

indulged.  .  , 

1684  found  "they  of  Pemaquid"  much  delighted  witi.  the 
glories,  military  and  civil,  of  their  capital,  as  well  as  their 
returning  trade,  petitioning  the  duke  for  more  favors,  "and  that 
Pemaquid  may  still  remain  the  metropolis  of  these  parts  because 
it  ever  have  been  so,  before  Boston  was  settled."  Alas  for  this 
dream  of  the  revival  of  the  traditional  capital,  Norumbega, 
politics  in  1686  enforced  the  jurisdiction  of  these  parts  to  be 
ceded  to  the  new  royal  Massachusetts  charter,  and  the  love-lorn 
Pemaquid  was  divorced  from  New  York. 

1687  brought  a  solace  for  their  woe.  The  thirsty  Bay  Puritans 
under  the  orders  of  the  judge  of  Pemaquid  made  a  raid  on  the 
French  settlement  at  Bagaduce,  on  the  Penobscot,  where  the 
Baron  Castine  lived,  and  carried  off  to  Pemaquid  a  ship  and  cargo 
of  wines,  etc.,  imported  by  him.  This  spoliation  caused  serious 
complaints  from  the  French  ambassador  at  London.  I  will  not 
say  that  free  rum  flowed  at  Pemaquid.  The  perfumed  and  stim- 
ulating red  wines  of  Gascony  and  Burgundy  shed  their  nectar  on 
the  parched  gullets  of  the  judge,  collectors,  tide  waiters  and 
bailiffs,  — the  official  aristocracy,  —  in  biblical  phrase,  "without 
money  and  without  price."  Even  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison,  or 
at  least  the  officers,  got  more  than  a  sniff  at  the  aromatic  fluid. 
On  Darwin's  doctrine  of  heredity  one  might  well  claim  that  the 
Maine  officials  thus  early  were  imbued  with,  and  transmitted  to 
their  successors,  the  habit  of  seizing  other  people's  wines  and 
liquors  and  drinking  them  without  paying  for  them. 

In  1689,  Fort  Charles  was  surprised  by  the  Indians,  who  cut 


M 


Pemaqtiiii  atnf  Motihegnn. 


\   lit 


•(! 


off  the  most  of  the  garrison  as  they  were  engaged  in  some 
ordinary  affairs  outside  the  fort,  ;.nd  with  a  second  body  made  an 
energetic  attack  on  the  fort,  which  was  vigorously  resisted  by  the 
small  remnant  within  the  fort.  The  next  day  the  attack  was  con- 
tinued, and  finally,  through  Madocawando's  efforts.  Captain 
Weems  was  induced  to  surrender  on  terms  for  all  within  the  fort 
VIZ.:  fourteen  men  and  some  women  and  children  who  had  been 
fortunate  enough  to  get  in  there  for  protection.  They  were 
immediately  put  on  board  a  sloop  and  sent  to  Boston  Sixteen 
men  had  been  killed  in  the  attacks  on  the  fort ;  of  those  outside 
who  had  been  cut  off,  the  French  Indians  carried  off  about  fifty 
captives ;  the  number  of  killed  is  unknown.  It  took  Captain 
Weems  three  years  to  obtain  the  pay  for  his  men  and  himself 
and  twice  he  petitioned  to  London.  This  was  a  serious  calamity 
to  the  frontier,  and  the  necessity  of  rebuilding  and  restoring 
Pemaquid  was  urgent.  " 

In  1693,  Governor  Phipps,  who  was  born  in  that  neighborhood 
(his  father  had  lived  at  Pemaqtiid),  directed  the  fort  to  be  rebuilt 
m  a  solid  way  of  stone.  It  took  in  the  great  stone  at  the  south- 
west that  was  outside  the  old  stockade  and  so  unfortunate  for 
It  in  the  last  attack,  and  was  heavily  armed  and  stronfflv 
garrisoned.      He  named  it 


Iti !  f 


FORT   WILLIAM    HENRY. 

The  long  Indian  and  French  war  had  devastated  the  frontier 
on  either  side,  but  the  two  rival  nations  still  opposed  a  threat- 
ening front  at  Pemaquid  and  at  the  Penobscot.  Predatory  and 
bloody  skirmishing  was  maintained  on  both  sides  against  the 
settlements  of  their  opponent. 

In  1696,  Fort  William  Henry  was  attacked  by  two  French 
frigates  and  five  hundred  French  and  Indians,  and  on  the  second 
day  it  surrendered  to  them  on  terms.  Chubb,  the  commander, 
was  held  long  in  jail  in  Boston  on  his  return,  his  conduct  having 
been  unsatisfactory.  The  French  destroyed  the  fort  by  tippine 
over  the  walls,  and  retired.  *^*    ^ 

In  1697,  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick  was  made,  and  the  possession 
of    Nova  Scotia   was    restored   to   France,  whose  claims  to  a 
predominant  title  over  New  England  had  never  been  abandoned 
Renewed  efforts  were  made  on  the  English  side  to  settle  eastern 
Maine  again.      What    with    the   attacks   and    counter    attack*; 


31 


1 1 


aged   in  some 

Kj<.iy    iiiavii-  an 

csisted  by  the 
ttack  was  con- 
orts,  Captain 
ithin  the  fort, 
ivho  had  been 
They  were 
ton.  Sixteen 
those  outside 
off  about  fifty 
took  Captain 
and  himself, 
ious  calamity 
md   restpring 

icighborhood, 
to  be  rebuilt 
at  the  south- 
fortunate  for 
md    strongly 


the  frontier 
5ed  a  threatr 
redatory  and 

against  the 

two  French 
1  the  second 

commander, 
iduct  having 
•t  by  tipping 

e  possession 
claims  to  a 
i  abandoned, 
ettle  eastern 
Iter    attacks 


Pemaqiiid  and  Mofihegan. 


15 


stimulated  by  the  national  antipathy  and  the  determination  of  the 
Indian  tribes  to  limit  the  white  man's  occupancy  to  the  mere 
fishing  stations  on  the  coast,  regardless  of  treaties  or  prior  sales 
by  them,  there  was  a  constant  turmoil.  Treaties  were  violated 
directly  the  pressure  that  induced  them  was  removed.  The 
hardy  New  Englanders,  grown  skilful  in  Indian  fighting,  struck 
fiercely  at  the  citadels  of  Indian  power  — their  villages  — besides 
maintaining  defensive  attitude  around  their  own  hojnesteads. 

Let  me  generalize.  In  1700-03,  there  were  attacks  on  our 
towns  ;  1704-07,  attacks  by  us  on  Port  Royal.  In  1709-10,  Port 
Royal  was  recaptured  by  us.  In  171 1,  our  disastrous  attack  on 
Canada.  In  1712  hostilities  ceased,  and  1713  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht  was  made,  whereby  France  ceded  "all  Nova  Scotia  or 
Acadia  comprehended  within  its  antient  boundaries ;  as  also  the 
city  of  Port  Royal,  now  called  Annapolis  Royal,"  etc.  There 
was  a  bright  hope  for  peace,  but  the  indefinite  limits  of  the 
cession  soon  led  to  further  difficulty. 

In  1716,  an  order  to  re-establish  the  Fort  at  Pernaquid  was 
issued,  but  not  executed. 

In  1717,  a  treaty  with  the  Indians  was  renewed,  and  in  1719 
the  old  settlers  and  land  holders  at  Pemaquid  began  to  return. 

In  1722,  Lovewell's  War  broke  out ;  the  great  successes  at 
Norridgewock  and  at  Pigwackat  broke  the  Indian  power.  Some 
fishing  vessels  after  hard  fighting  were  captured  and  rescued. 
The  bounty  for  scalps  went  up  to  ;^ioo. 

In  1724,  the  Indians  captured  two  fishing  vessels  at  the  Isles 
of  Shoals  and  eight  at  Fox  Island  thoroughfare,  in  all  twenty-two 
sail;  killed  twenty-two  fishermen,  and  made  twenty-eight 
prisoners.     In   1725  more  were  surprised  and  taken. 

In  1726,  Dummer's  Treaty  was  signed  with  the  Indian  tribes. 
It  was  not  popular,  but  Pemaquid,  after  lying  waste  for  over 
twenty  years,  began  to  revive. 

In  1729,  Dunbar,  the  governor,  under  a  royal  order  of  the 
province  of  Sagadahoc,  fixed  his  headquarters  at  Pemaquid.  He 
rebuilt  the  fallen  fort  and  called  it 

FORT   FREDERIC. 

In  1735,  the  jurisdiction  was  turned  over  again  to  Massachu- 
setts, and  in  1737  the  fort  was  dismantled.  In  1740  At  was 
repaired,  and  in  1744  it  was  strengthened  for  the  French  War, 


i6 


Pemaquid  and  Monhegan. 


'iiiit 


Ml 


in  which  the  colonial  forces  captured  Louisburg.  Canada  re- 
mained still  a  potential  instigator  of  frontier  troubles. 

In  1745,  there  were  attacks  on  Fort  Frederic;  1746,  two 
more;  1747,  two  more,  but  1748  brought  the  peace  of  Aix  la 
Chapelle. 

In  1750,  another  Indian  War  broke  out,  and  in  1755  the  new 
French  War  broke  out  which,  after  the  most  intense  struggle 
of  the  two  powers,  closed  by  the  capture  of  Quebec  in  1759, 
and  the  surrender  o(  all  Canada  and  the  obliteration  of  the 
frontier. 

The  ancestors  of  the  most  of  us  were  in  this  war  of  conquest 
for  the  .sake  of  that  peace  which  the  reunion  of  the  whole  settled 
continent  under  one  flag  affords  to  the  industrious  and  home- 
loving  citizen,  and  around  the  old  hearthstones  family  traditions 
are  yet  proudly  handed  down  of  the  gallant  deeds  that  made  the 
forts  at  Pemaquid  a  military  supernumerary. 

In  1758,  the  troops  were  withdrawn  from  Pemaquid  ;  1762,  the 
cannon  of  P'ort  Frederic  were  taken  out  and  shipped  to  Boston. 
The  broken  Indian  power  lost  all  hope  when  Canada  fell;  the 
remnant  of  their  tribes  were  compelled  to  rely  on  the  colonials  for 
trade  and  supplies  The  swords  were  beaten  into  ploughshares. 
The  old  fort  leisurely  rotted  away,  standing  as  a  souvenir  of  the 
fierce  and  dubious  struggle  during  a  century  and  a  half  in  which 
Pemaquid  had  been  the  hope  or  the  stay  of  the  English  race  in 
New  England,  the  fore  front  of  our  battle  for  supremacy  on  this 
continent. 

177s  yields  us  one  more  glimpse  of  the  old  fort.  The  men 
of  the  duke's  country  were  all  patriots;  their  worthies  like  the 
fighting  O'Brians,  the  Sprouls,  and  others,  live  yet  in  the  local 
annals  of  Bristol  and  the  state. 

The  coast  was  exposed  to  the  piratical  devastations  of  the 
navy  of  Great  Britain ;  we  could  not  match  it,  and  it  was 
apprehended  that,  could  they  fortify  a  good  harbor  as  a  base 
of  operations,  the  coasts  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Massa- 
chusetts might  be  lighted  with  the  flames  of  burning  houses  and 
plundered  as  it  had  been  in  King  Phillip's  War.  The  English 
have  ever  shown  a  constitutional  partiality  for  this  kind  of 
warfare  in  their  contests  with  the  American  people.  It  was  felt 
that  tfie  old  fort  was  too  big  to  be  defended  by  Pemaquid,  and 
too  dangerous   in  an   enemy's   hands.     A  town   meeting  voted 


SSSSS 


Pemaquid  and  Monhegan. 


17 


Canada  re- 
s. 

;  1746,  two 
:e  of  Aix  la 

1755  the  new 
nse  struggle 
bee  in  1759, 
ition   of   the 

of  conquest 
vhole  settled 
s  and  home- 
ly traditions 
lat  made  the 

d ;  1762,  the 
d  to  Boston, 
ida  fell;  the 
colonials  for 
loughshares. 
venir  of  the 
alf  in  which 
flish  race  in 
Tjacy  on  this 

.  The  men 
lies  like  the 
in  the  local 

dons  of  the 

and  it  was 

r  as  a  base 

and  Massa- 

houses  and 

rhe   English 

his   kind   of 

It  was  felt 

tmaquid,  and 

ieting  voted 


to  pull  down  the  fort,  and  strong  hands  quickly  toppled  over  its 
old  walls.  The  gates  and  platforms  were  already  rotted,  and 
in  a  few  weeks  the  ruins  of  Fort  Frederic  were  much  in  the 
condition    that    I    beheld    them    more    than    a    hundred   years 

afterwards. 

In  1 81 2,  Captain  Sproul's  company  made  their  camp  at  the 
old  fort,  but  did  not  rebuild  it.  They  had  several  skirmishes 
during  the  war  with  plundering  boat  expeditions  from  British 
Men-of-War,  which  are  duly  narrated  in  the  excellent  History 
of  Bristol. 

Pemaquid  has  for  half  a  century  been  frequented  by  historians, 
and  antiquaries.  Rows  of  almost  obliterated  cellars  mark  where 
houses  once  stood.  A  paved  way  has  partly  been  laid  bare  by  the 
removal  of  a  foot  or  more  of  earth  which  had  accumulated  above 
it  which  seems  to  have  'ed  from  the  shore  past  the  fort.  Curious 
eyes  also  think  they  see  evidences  of  a  Spanish  occupation 
earlier  than  the  French  or  English  era.  A  collection  of  relics 
is  slowly  accumulating  there.  The  mossy  stones  of  the  old 
graveyard  join  in  the  chorus  that  Pemaquid  is  dead,  engulfed 
in  victory ! 

The  frontier  has  been  moved  a  hundred  miles  eastward  of  the 
Penobscot.  The  beaver  and  the  Indian  have  been  wiped  out. 
The  fishery  has  changed  its  character  except  at  Monhegan.  The 
former  elements  of  its  prosperity  have  ceased  to  exist. 

In  Its  harbor  a  stray  coaster  or  a  placid  yachtsman  seeks 
perhaps  a  refuge  from  fog  or  storm.  And  on  a  sunny  day  many 
a  lively  sloop  or  cat-boat  from  the  city-peopled  islands  around 
Boothbay,  Mouse  or  Squirrel,  Heron  or  Capital,  Rutherford,  Isle 
of  Spring,  or  Fisherman,  laden  with  happy,  laughing,  holiday 
residents,  steers  boldly  through  the  reef-bound  "thread  of  life" 
and  speeds  to  these  relics  of  New  England's  early  struggle  for 
existence.  On  those  who  have  read  its  story  these  scenes  make 
a  deep  impression. 

Nine  or  ten  miles  off  Pemaquid  Point  Monhegan  towers  like 
a  cathedral.  Westward,  about  the  like  distance,  lay  the  Damrel's 
Cove  Islands  and  Cape  Newwagen.  A  half  dozen  miles  beyond 
is  the  Sagadahoc  of  the  Popham  settlement,  almost  within  signal 
distance  lie  these  points  of  the  triangle,  within  whose  theatre 
were  developed  the  struggles  for  the  settlement  and  dominion 
of  New  England  I  have  crudely  laid  before  you.     Here  from 


i8 


Pemaquid  and  Monbegan. 


the  West  of  England,  Devon  and  Somerset,  gentlemen  and 
fishermen,  drove  their  keels  first  to  its  shores,  and  strove,  gaining 
inch  by  inch,  never  relenting  until  the  New  England  homesteads 
gathered  under  their  lee  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty. 

AT   PEMAQUIl). 

The  martial  din  is  over.  No  flag  flaunts  from  its  bastions  on 
the  breeze,  no  wide-mouthed  cannon  stares  over  barbette  or 
through  port-hole,  no  morning  gun  wakes  the  sleepy  inhabitants 
or  the  cruising  sailor  from  his  watch  below.  The  mailed  cavalier, 
the  grim  Puritan,  the  feathered  Abnaqui  chief,  the  French 
man-at-arms,  the  rollicking.  May-pole  planting  fishermen  of  the 
West  of  England,  the  trading  Dutchman,  the  land  pirate  and 
the  sea  pirate  walk  no  more  by  daylight  on  the  shores  of 
Pemaquid ;  but  when  the  spirits  of  the  past  come  back  at 
midnight  the  old  Bashaba  and  these  mighty  men  of  past 
generations  may  gather  in  the  mystic  vision  like  the  wild 
huntsmen  of  the  Hartz  Mountains.  But  other  realistic  visions 
might  be  also  mirrored  forth  ;  the  sky  be  relighted  with  the  blaze 
of  burning  houses,  barns  and  ships  ;  the  air  wearied  with  the  war 
whoop  and  the  screams  of  wounded  or  dying  men,  the  wail  of 
women  and  children,  the  cries  of  battle  and  of  the  despair  of 
plundered  farmers  and  drowning  fishermen.  It  was  in  blood, 
tears,  pain,  labor,  and  unrelenting  perseverance  that  this  land 
was  won  by  the  fishermen  and  the  colonists.  As  the  fruit  of 
their  sacrifices,  in  peace,  plenty  and  prosperity  we  look  back  on 
the  past.  May  I  not  ask  of  the  warm-hearted  members  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Hyde  Park  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  those 
hardy  fishermen  and  landsmen,  who  breasted  the  storm  of  war  by 
Pemaquid,  until  this  land  became,  in  fact,  New  England  and  not 
New  France. 


■iH, 


tlemen  and 
)vc,  gaining 
homesteads 
I   civil    and 


bastions  on 
jarbctte  or 
inhabitants 
ed  cavalier, 
ic  French 
nen  of  the 
pirate  and 

shores  of 
le  back  at 
n    of    past 

the  wild 
jtic  visions 
li  the  blaze 
ith  the  war 
he  wail  of 
despair  of 
;  in  blood, 
:  this  land 
he  fruit  of 
ik  back  on 
)ers  of  the 
ry  of  those 
1  of  war  by 
nd  and  not 


.r 


I 


n 


^ 


i(f^W>^l  jj.s!'! '  i™||upg|g4|'*P*--l»  ^SIS 


-,;^,_yy„_^.j^,r.  ,i,«llfg<«  , I  ,  ,  i,,,,,;;.'rrr-.-r^l5'?.'~'''T*?ST' 


isisa 


